Dawn of Rebirth
by MicchiChan
Summary: Two years after the events with the Fal'Cie, Hope and the gang find themselves struggling to rebuild lives for themselves. The new society on Gran Pulse is thriving, but is far from complete. People cling to whatever they can to remain hopeful about the future. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing and things may not be as easy as the former L'Cie had hoped.
1. How Far We've Come

**A/N:**

**I wrote this story before Final Fantasy XIII's sequel was released, and now, going through this story again, I'm kind of shocked at some of the similarities. Apparently, my mind came up with almost the same things as the designers. However, this won't really follow the sequel, as Lightning is NOT in Valhalla, Noel is not mentioned, Hope is NOT the founder of Academia, and the structure of the new society is a little different. I hope you'll bear with me anyway.**

Hope and Lightning are my favorite pairing, so long as Hope is at an appropriate age, so obviously this story will take place after the game play storyline, when Hope has grown into his shoes, so to speak. The characters and the game are obviously not mine, or I would be making another game, not a fan fiction.

This first chapter's title has only a little bit to do with the storyline at this point; it's actually a song by Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty) that I could see Hope singing. The song of course is not mine.

**I hope that you will enjoy the journey that this story is sure to turn into with all the twists, turns, bumps, and surprises that'll rise up along the way! I wish you happy reading! Reviews, be it constructive criticism or praise is more than welcome!**

Chapter One: How Far We've Come

"Well, I believe the world is burnin' to the ground! Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out! Let's see how far we've come, let's see how far we've come! And I believe it all is comin' to an end! Oh well, I guess we're gonna pretend! Let's see how far we've come, let's see how far we've come, let's see how far we've come…!"

Reality rushed back to the singer, seemingly slapping him in the face as his ears were assaulted with the sound of enthusiastic applause. Gazing out over the faces, he noticed that his band had attracted quite the crowd around the small stage in Lebreau's new bar, built to almost match the one she had owned and run on Cocoon. Many people of all ages crowded around them, cheering wildly, some even whistling or calling for an encore, many having to stand on the tips of their toes to get a good view of the stage.

Music. An inspiration and motivator for all mankind. Since the fall of Cocoon, this has become even more true. The people seek refuge in music as they try to cope with adjusting to the world of Gran Pulse as their new home. Music inspires all of the people collectively to press on and face the challenge with newfound strength and determination. This newly formed band, Halo of Havoc, is no different.

The NORA boys, Yuj and Marqui, joined up with Hope Esthiem to form what is now one of the major bands performing here on Gran Pulse. As soon as Hope expressed an interest in music, the NORA boys jumped on the opportunity, claiming that Hope needed all the help he could get. But we all know that deep down inside, Maqui has been dying to try his hand at playing the bass, which he is surprisingly adept at. He also covers background vocals with his rich baritone voice (which has deepened a bit over the years). Given Yuj's….slightly wild demeanor, decided that it would be the most exhilarating to play, or rather, slam, the drums. Turns out, he had the skill in his genes. And Hope Esthiem, now twenty years old, plays the lead acoustic guitar and sings his heart out as the lead vocalist.

Though he loves the new life that he's created for himself after picking up the pieces of the little boy caught up in the L'Cie mess, he can't shake the feeling that something crucial is missing here. Even with the freedom of being normal again, human again, he cannot find a way to be completely satisfied.

Fang and Vanille rest peacefully in crystal stasis, the silent guardians of all people living on Pulse. Err, rather, Gran Pulse. Their hometown, Oerba, has been rebuilt into a bustling city and the capital of our Pulsian society. If they could see the people of Cocoon, all working together to live on Gran Pulse and put old feelings of hatred and disgust behind, Hope was sure they would be smiling, smug, but also proud of our progress. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Sazh and Dajh, reunited again, couldn't be any happier. Sazh is doing what he loves most, piloting. His journeys have allowed us to begin mapping out Gran Pulse. Dajh, wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, spends as much time with his father as he can, while living out the life of a normal teenager, that being a L'Cie almost robbed him of. The two of them occasionally show up to a concert, Dajh claiming to be Halo of Havoc's biggest fan. The chocobo chick, now full grown, is one of the increasingly numerous chocobos that the father and son duo have begun to raise on a ranch.

Our hero, Snow, is busy raising his "big happy family" with his precious wife, Serah. The two tragic lovers have finally been able to settle down into normality, seeming to have defeated the fate they were destined to have when they became L'Cie. They welcome the joys and challenge that being parents bring, each new day a different page in the story they are writing together.

And last but not least, Lightning…. Promoted to a position of relatively high command of the reformed Guardian Corps, her goal is now to protect the cities and towns of Gran Pulse from the rampaging and wild monsters that might threaten our society. She's as busy as ever. Serah says she seems to be enjoying herself having purpose again and such, but with Light, you can never really tell what is stirring under the surface…but that's Light for you.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Gran Pulse!" A voice bellowed with conviction from the large flat screen hanging above the bar began, once again effectively pulling Hope out of his thoughtful trance. It was Saiko Kanshisha, the military leader who was elected to begin guiding the citizens of Pulse on our adventure to make Gran Pulse an inhabitable home, as great or better than Cocoon had been. As epic as his speech sounded, Hope wasn't really interested. In his eyes, this guy was too much talk, and not enough action, though he did give him credit where credit was due, progress was being made, however slow it may be.

Walking off stage into the narrow hallway that lead to the back door of the bar, Hope escaped the notice of the crowd, who was enthralled by Saiko's speech. Lazily turning the doorknob, he stepped out into the pouring rain. Turning his face skyward, he relished in the feel of the raindrops sliding down his face and through his platinum hair.

Moving more out of habit and instinct than actual willpower, he found himself in his hotel room, shoes shaken off on the right side of the door. He flopped down on the small, but adequate and comfortable bed and hoped sleep would find him quickly.

It was not a peaceful sleep.

**A/N:**

**Chapter one is done! Let me know what you think and stick around for the next chapter, okies? Thanks for reading! I look forward to the completion of this adventure that I've just started with all of you!**

**Considering that this is the first chapter, I would like to ask you to PLEASE REVIEW. Constructive criticism or praise would be much appreciated. Until next time.**


	2. Always

A/N:

I felt the need to give Serah and Snow a nice happy little family after all the hard stuff they dealt with in the video games. I hope that I succeeded in capturing their characters in this chapter and in their relations to Hope. Well, without further chitchat from me, please enjoy the chapter and thank you for your patience!

Chapter Two: Always

Rising from a fitful and nightmare-filled sleep is never a good way to start the day, but sure enough, that was how it began for Hope. With heavy feet and foggily troubled mind, he shuffled out of bed and slipped on his slippers. He then made his way to the hotel's tiny kitchen unit, his slippered feet dragging a bit on the way. Pouring batter into the small skillet provided by the cheap hotel he was staying in, he began making pancakes. His brain began to hum awake as he focused on cooking. No matter how simple it was, cooking always put Hope in a better, more creative mood. After eating four pancakes, he slipped his plate into the sink, a small clinking sound resulting.

He sat down on the bed, seeing as there aren't a whole lot of choices for seating in such a small hotel. _So, what's the game plan for the day? No concerts today, no public events that he has to attend…. Surely there has to be something worth doing to get out of the cramped hotel._ That's when he realized that he could visit Snow and his family, since they were actually within walking distance of the hotel on the outskirts of Oerba.

Before he knew it, Hope found himself at their front door. He ran a hand through his silver/white hair in slightly nervous anticipation. Maybe he should have called….But before he could convince himself to leave; he gathered up his courage and rang the doorbell. Shifting most of his weight from one foot to the other, he waited nervously for someone to open the door.

When the door did open, a small girl, no more than four years old looked up at him with piercing blue eyes and cotton candy colored hair, almost identical to her mother's. Something tightened in Hope's chest as the little one reminded him so vividly of another. _Lightning…_

"Um, is your mom or dad home?" He sheepishly asked the little girl, feeling awkward with the stare down he was receiving from her. She had no emotion on her face.

"Ame! What have I told you about opening the door for strangers! Let mommy take care of it, okay?" Serah began, rushing to the open doorway. She looked up at Hope in confusion. "You look familiar, I just can't put my finger on it…," She said to him, a look of intense concentration on her face. "Hope?" She questioned.

"Yeah, it's me. It's been too long, Serah. This little one yours?" Hope answered politely.

"My how you've grown! I hardly recognized you! You shot up like a weed, a handsome weed, that is," She amended lightly, giggling sweetly. "This is Ame, my oldest daughter. She's almost four, but she's still terribly shy," Serah continued, patting the young girl's shoulder length hair.

"Hi there," he said gently, crouching down to Ame's height. She smiled a small smile then made to hide behind Serah's leg. Hope chuckled softly. Shy was definitely the word. Hope guessed she wasn't quite as much like Light as he had originally thought.

"Come on in Hope!" Serah said, gesturing with her arm for him to enter. He obliged, brushing his shoes on the mat and removing them before entering.

The Villier's home was modest in size, but you could tell how much they loved it. There were small pieces of comfortable looking but not necessarily matching furniture everywhere in the main room and a few bedrooms and a bathroom down the long hallway to the left of the entryway. The kitchen merged with the living room and a few dishes were visible sticking out of the sink. The sign of a family who used their home. Hope smiled a bit as Serah fluttered over to the sink, apologizing for the mess.

"Not at all. You should see my hotel room!" He joked lightly.

"You're still staying in a hotel, Hope? Can you really afford to stay there for very much longer? I know you have your band and all, but it's not the best paying job in the world. Why don't you stay here? You'd have to use the couch, but we'd be happy to have you," Serah began rambling.

"I couldn't. You guys have enough on your hands already, it seems, but thank you for the offer, I appreciate it," The silver haired young man declined in the most polite way he could manage.

"You have no idea just how much we have on our hands, little man!" Snow's loud voice came from just behind Hope, mingled in with some light whining. Hope turned to find two young babies in his arms.

"Twins?" He inquired.

"You betcha! The little man here is Hiro, and the young lady's Vedette. Aren't they adorable? Serah says Hiro looks just like me, but I don't see it," Snow answered, gazing at his children with fatherly affection.

"Ha ha! I can see it, definitely. How old are they?"

"25 months," Serah answered, having the exact number of months on the top of her head as most mothers seem to_. Wouldn't it just be easier to say two years and a month? _

Hope reached out a hand in front of Hiro, curious to see if he would grab his fingers like most young kids tend to do. He did, and boy, his grip was strong!

Wincing a little at the considerable strength, Hope pulled his hand back. "Definitely his father's son!" he laughed, earning a grin from Serah and a confused look from Snow.

Snow set the twins down and they toddled away, walking in a slightly unstable way.

His hand came up to slap Hope on the back in what he supposed was a friendly gesture.

"So, you stayin' for dinner little man?"

"Naw, not tonight Snow. I've gotta use up the food in my hotel room before it expires," Hope answered honestly, a bit embarrassed about his current living situation.

"Tomorrow, then?" Serah asked, giving him a pleading look. "We'd love to have you over, Hope."

"Alright. I'll try. Thanks for the invite guys. I'm gonna head out now, it was great seeing you again," He said, ducking out toward the door.

As he walked out down to their driveway, he saw Light heading down the street towards the house on a small motorcycle. Something similar to adrenaline shot through him and he ran off towards her, smiling like an idiot.

"Light!" Hope yelled happily in her direction. She slowed down the motorcycle and stopped it near him.

"Hope? You've certainly grown," She said looking at him with a small smile.

"Ha, you haven't changed a bit, Light!" He said with a fond smile.

"No, I suppose not... Need a ride home?" She offered, patting the seat behind her in question.

"Um, that's alright…I need the exercise," Hope said, needing an excuse to keep her from seeing the cheap hotel he was staying in.

"Okay then. Catch you later Hope," She said, waving before starting up the bike and speeding past him towards her sister's home.

A/N:

**As always, reviews would be lovely and would likely cause more chapters to be posted in the very near future… ;) I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	3. Taking Over Me

A/N:

**Alright! Let's get this show on the road! This chapter is one I've been looking forward to writing, as it is from Light's point of view.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed, I really appreciate it. I hope that this chapter will live up to your expectations. **

"Serah? I'm back!" Lightning called through the quiet house, carrying a good amount of grocery bags on her arms while keeping the door open and therefore unable to hit her with one booted foot. At Serah's request, she had made a trip to the store to pick up a few things for dinner and now she was back, out of breath and irritated because the cashier kept her waiting while he talked to his girlfriend._ What happened to a good work ethic?_

"Serah?" She called again, louder, Serah's lack of response seeming strange to her. The younger pink haired sister rushed into the room with her finger to her lips in a silencing motion, a hint of anger in her eyes.

"The kids are all sleeping! You'll wake them up!" She said in urgent and irritated whispers, placing her hands on her hips to emphasize her unhappiness. _Don't irritate momma bear…_

"Ah, I'll try to keep it down. Here's what you asked for," Lightning said, setting the loaded grocery bags on the counter and marveling at the amount of food she had bought. "Now, why is it that we needed this much food, Serah?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"We're having company, Sis, didn't I tell you?" She said sweetly, plastering on an innocent looking expression on her face. That look sent off some serious warning bells for Lightning.

"Serah," Lightning said menacingly, stepping closer with an unconsciously powerful aura. It had the desired effect, causing Serah to cower a little and put her hands up in a pleading gesture. "When were you planning to tell me? Who is it?" Lightning demanded, gritting her teeth slightly in annoyance.

"Relax Sis," Serah chuckled nervously, "It's just Hope, he's okay, isn't he?" She asked backing a bit further away and finding her back against the wall.

Lightning snarled. "Fine, I'll go home and cook for myself,"

"Sis, don't be that way! Stay!" Serah pleaded.

"Auntie Light? Will you stay with us, please?" A small voice called, the source tugging lightly at the edge of Lightning's skirt to make her presence known. Lightning had to smile a bit when she saw the timid look on the young girl's face.

"I suppose, since you said please," Light said in clear surrender, picking Ame up and hugging her close. Lightning definitely had a soft spot for Serah's kids, she just couldn't help herself.

"Aw, how touching, Sis! Didn't know you had it in ya!" Snow said, totally ruining the moment. Lightning smiled a wicked warning smile at him before setting down Ame and punching him in the shoulder. He tried his best to tone down his language in front of little ears. Lightning figured she was being generous by not knocking him to the floor in front of his child, and the look on her face told Snow that as clearly as if she had spoken it aloud.

"Get along, children," Serah said with a grin, giggling a little.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Snow and Lightning both asked at the same time. They turned to look at each other in irritation. Lightning turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest with a scoff. Snow looked at Serah and shrugged.

As the two lovers were about to embrace, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Light told them, thankful for an excuse to bail out when things were getting too lovey dovey for her liking. She rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall, hearing Snow mutter something about her being in an awful big hurry.

She opened the door to find Hope, as expected. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt that had a white video game controller on it saying, "I have control issues". His hair was as it always was, spiked and slightly messy.

"Come on in, Hope," She said, stepping aside to let him in, the picture of hospitality. His face lit up in a smile and he surprised her, pulling her into a tight hug. She awkwardly hugged him back, noticing for the first time how tall he had gotten. Lightning's head reached his shoulder. The hug ended as quickly as it had started and she let out a breath she didn't realized she had been holding.

"Smells good, Serah!" Hope called through the house. Light grimaced at the volume of his voice, remembering the twins were asleep. Sure enough, Hiro and Vedette began to call out for Serah.

"Since you two woke them up, you get to keep them busy until I finish dinner," Serah called, a conniving smile almost audible in her voice.

"I didn't wake them up!" Lightning countered, frantically hoping that she wouldn't have to entertain the kids. Ame was one thing, the twins another thing entirely. She would never admit it, but young kids were scarier to her than any behemoth could ever hope to be.

"Oh? But who forgot to tell Hope they were sleeping, Sis?" Snow said, grinning mischievously at Lightning from the living room.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"Come on Light, it can't be that bad!" Hope said, chuckling and placing a hand lightly on her shoulder. She flinched slightly at the contact, but realized it was a friendly gesture. She shrugged in surrender and led the way down the hall to the twins' room, Ame and Hope both following like little puppies. Lightning repressed the urge to laugh at them.

Hiro and Vedette both sprang up to rush at her and hugged her legs, smiling up at her. For some reason she couldn't figure out, these kids seemed to love her. Ame, feeling left out, hugged Hope's leg, earning a chuckle from him as he ruffled her hair lightly.

"Play, Auntie Light!" Vedette sang out, doing a happy dance. Her pink curls danced around her small face, looking very much like her name's inspiration, Vanille.

"Let's play house!" Ame suggested in her most confident and happy voice, all shyness washed away at the opportunity to have playmates other than her siblings.

"Not again!" Hiro said, stubbornly shaking his head.

"Pwease bwother?" Vedette asked, puppy dog eyes aimed for her brother. Hiro struggled a minute, many emotions flickering across his face as he looked at his sister. Finally, with a look of surrender, he agreed.

"You can be the mommy and daddy, since you're the oldest!" Ame decided, pointing to Hope and Lightning. Lightning's eyes opened wide with surprise, as Hope's likely did as well. They turned to look at each other, both knowing that once a child decides something; it's easier to go along with it than try to change their minds.

"Um, fine," Hope managed to spit out. Ame decided she wanted to be the maid and Hiro and Vedette would be the kids_. This is going to be a long and dreadful game,_ Lightning decided, groaning and mentally hitting herself in the forehead.

"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong! Mommy and Daddy are supposed to love each other! Like this," Ame chided, placing Light's hand in Hope's. Lightning was shocked by her sudden change in attitude. Maybe she would grow out of the shyness after all.

Then she realized the situation she was in. Her hand felt strange being held in Hope's. A faint pink was painting her cheeks, and she found Hope's facial color mirrored hers. However, his hand tightened briefly on hers, causing some serious surprise on her part.

For the first time, Lightning was thankful to have Snow around. Just as she was contemplating the best route of escape and mapping it out in her mind, he yelled to the group that dinner was on the table. A sigh of relief passed Light's lips and she made her way down the hall.

"Uh, Sis?" Serah said, nodding toward Light's hand. She looked down in confusion, and then realized she hadn't let go of Hope's hand. Dropping his hand in embarrassment, she took a seat at the table.

Needless to say, Lightning's idiot brother-in-law tried to make jokes over the hand holding incident over the table. All of her thankfulness from earlier vanished as she kicked him a few times under the table, effectively silencing him, though she knew she would never live this down.

A/N:

This chapter was really fun for me to write. I dunno why, I just thought it was really cute. The kids got a little more attention this time around too. And a little interaction between Hope and Lightning, though nothing substantial yet.

Until next time.

**-Micchi-Chan-**


	4. Beautiful Disaster

**A/N:**

**Chapter 4; You ready for this? I know I am.**

**Thanks, as always, for all the lovely reviews. I am updating today because of them, some sleepless nights of sketching, and fabulous coffee.**

**Happy reading. **

After a long day of working and running patrols in Oerba, even Lightning was welcoming the idea of going home and relaxing a bit. Even the best of soldiers needed rest occasionally, after all. Three behemoths in one day with L'Cie powers would be challenge enough, without them, facing the unbelievably large and irate creatures alone becomes nearly impossible. She couldn't remember ever being more thankful for backup.

Unlocking the door to her apartment and taking one step inside, she tensed, hand instinctively reaching for her gun blade. Something was off. Closing the door behind her quietly, Lightning stealthily made her way towards the kitchen, only to be stopped by an obstacle in the way. A very human obstacle.

Now, the only person besides herself with a key to her apartment was Serah, and the shape of this person was undoubtedly male and smelled faintly of Cyprus trees. Definitely not Serah. She swung her gun blade up to the throat of the person, whose identity was still hidden in the darkness of the room.

"Woah, woah, woah! Take it easy, Light! It's me, Hope!" The figure in front of her said, raising his hands in an unmistakable gesture of surrender. He took a step back. Lightning eased up on the blade, sheathing it again behind her.

"Why are you here?" She asked, wasting no time in getting to the point.

"Um, Serah lent me the key, because….well, let's have dinner first, shall we?" He asked, sheepishly, running a hand through his hair nervously. He gestured to the kitchen, where the light was turned on and the small table set.

"Dinner?" Light asked with a quirked eyebrow. She had been planning on using up some of the leftovers in the fridge tonight, but her stomach growled in betrayal at the smell that was carrying over to her from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I made dinner for you. Thought it'd be nice to have a cooked meal after a long day of work, right?" Hope answered, as though it was a normal thing for someone to borrow a key and enter an apartment to cook dinner for someone uninvited.

"You can cook?" Lightning asked, her face emotionless, but finding the idea of Hope cooking rather amusing. Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, anyone's cooking would beat the rather lackluster meals she made for herself.

"You'd be surprised, cooking actually comes pretty naturally to me," Hope said, chuckling a bit. She really wasn't all that surprised. Hope had always had an artist-like attitude about him.

"Then what's that burnt smell?" Lightning asked, testing the smell in the air a few times. Hope's face, now that her eyes had adjusted to seeing detail, lit up in horror and shock. She was beginning to have second thoughts about his ability to cook…

"Um, that's just, I, ….oh! Hold on a second! Don't move!" He pleaded, rushing in to the kitchen, practically sliding on the tile floor. Lightning followed behind, not willing to let her home go up in flames just because he asked her to stand still. No way.

When she arrived in the kitchen, the scene she found was almost comical. It would have been, had it been on some television show rather than her home. Evidently, Hope had left the stovetop burner on, and smoke was filling most of the kitchen. The paper towel roll next to the stove had caught on fire.

Irritated, Lightning jumped up to hit the fire sprinklers on the ceiling, angry that it wasn't already on. Stupid things. Before she managed to activate it with force, she heard something familiar she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Waterga!" Hope shouted out with conviction, like he actually expected his L'Cie powers to respond after being dormant for so long. She would have laughed with humorlessly, but miraculously, the spell did come, dousing the fire instantly, but leaving the kitchen a wet mess. Water was all over the floor and the counter. She brought her hand up to her forehead, glad the danger was gone, but upset with the mess, and also the loss of what may have been a descent dinner.

"How did you…?" She asked, suddenly remembering that it should have been impossible for him to cast any magic spells now.

"Ha ha, well, it's a magic drive, a birthday present from my dad," He said, showing her the black glove with a pure white crystal in the center of the topside. "It's not as strong as the L'Cie stuff, but it gets the job done,"

"You almost burnt my apartment down," Lightning said, venom beginning to sink into her tone. Hope looked back at her, fear and apology in his eyes. He took another step back. Smart move.

"I'm sorry Light! I was just trying to do something nice for you, I've never felt like such an idiot in my life," Hope said, looking all sorts of sorry. She contemplated hitting him, but this was Hope.

"Just get out," She said, fighting the urge to get violent.

"At least let me clean up and order pizza or something,"

"….."

Somehow, he took her silence as an okay. A few minutes later, he had mopped up the kitchen and wiped down the counters and pizza had arrived. Somehow, Lightning forgot to finish kicking him out, instead sitting down to eat with him. At the scent of food, her anger all but evaporated.

"Um, Light?" Hope began, hesitance in his voice. He seemed to think that she was still ready to rip his head off. To be honest, she had only a few threads of patience left, so he probably wasn't too far off.

"Hmm?" She replied simply, mouth full of warm pizza.

"I know this is probably a bad time, since my act of kindness backfired and all, but….I need a place to stay and Serah said that I should ask you,"

"Why do you need a new place, Hope? What about your father?"

"Well, you see, I'm a musician and I have to write songs, but no inspiration has come to me lately…I think the change of scenery will really help me. And besides, there's a lot of demand for concerts around here…So what do you say, Light, can you help me out?"

"For how long?" She inquired, not really sure if this would be a good idea or not. More than likely it would turn out to be a mistake.

"I'm not sure, inspiration isn't something you can put a time limit on," Hope said, using typical musician logic.

"Fine, but one wrong move and—" Lightning was cut off as Hope pulled her into a bear hug, causing her to lose all the breath in her lungs.

"Air," She rasped out, lungs feeling the pressure of Hope's strong arms wrapped around her so tightly. She shook her head a little as he released her, trying not to think too much about his masculine smell that had invaded her senses.

"Thank you, Light! I knew I could count on you!" Hope said, smiling a brilliant smile.

"One condition," She stated, her hands going to her hips.

"What's that?"

"Stay out of trouble….and the kitchen," She said, grinning back at him.

**A/N:**

**I found that this chapter was quite enjoyable to write.**

**Let me know what you think please! Reviews really do inspire faster updates and more interesting chapters, believe me! Thanks as always,**

**-Micchi-Chan-**


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